Tips for Adding an Assault Pack to Your Loadout

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During our series on load carriage, we’ve gone over all of the most common methods available. We hit the battle belt, the chest rig, and even the classic load bearing equipment (LBE) configuration. In all of the other articles I’ve written, which I’ll link down below, I’ve made it pretty clear that I like to keep things minimal.

With the exception of the LBE, I really only keep a few bare essentials on the gear. The rest goes into the assault pack.

So let’s talk about what that pack should look like.

The Light Assault Pack

Let me be clear up front on this one: I’m not talking about your standard three-day assault pack. I’m not even talking about the relatively rare medium ALICE pack.

No, I’m talking even smaller.

Full-size rucks like ALICE, or really anything with a capacity in the 45+ liter range, are for existence loads. If you’re not familiar with the term, that’s ok. I mentioned it briefly while discussing load bearing concepts. In short, the existence load, sometimes called the sustainment load, is for surviving in the field for long periods of time. The intent is to road march to a position, drop the ruck for a few days, and live out of it in the field.

A small assault pack paired with load bearing gear

The assault pack is much smaller. Think about a 24-hour operation or so. It carries other items that weren’t directly supporting “making holes and plugging holes” but are still important for whatever reason.

Common items you might load in the assault pack for our “Scenario X” include:

Extra ammunition

Batteries

Communication gear

Emergency shelter (poncho, cordage, etc)

Tools

Cordage

Extra water

Cleaning kit & lube

Storage bags

Calorie-dense food

“Boo-Boo kit” for small first aid supplies

Extra clothing, particularly socks

Toilet paper, because hygiene

Related ContentIf you haven’t read them yet, I covered thoughts on other main load carriage methods in separate articles, linked below.

The intent here is that you get to keep some extra items to make your life easier, but don’t want so much that it becomes a hindrance to mobility. You do not want to drop this pack at the first sign of conflict and have to come back and find it. Instead, consider an integral portion of your gear.

This isn’t really new information. There’s a been a rather distinct trend towards small-ish lightweight assault packs lately.

A Brief History

This jaunt down gear history won’t take very long. Carrying supplemental equipment in a small pack was very common throughout history.

I’ll start in WWI with the M1910 Pack and Haversack. This system used clips to hook into the cartridge belt at the rear and in the front. It was unpopular with the troops because it was awkward and complicated to pack. Despite that, it carried on into WWII as a slightly modified version known as the M1928.

The contents of this kit wasn’t too far off from what I listed above. Basic rations, entrenching tool, shelter kit, cordage, and toiletries were all part of the gear.

WWI soldier with the M1910 Pack

The M1936 Musette Bag in pack mode

The M1928 was still around for the start of WWII, but troops had taken to using the M1936 Musette bag as a backpack instead. That is if they could get a hold of one, of course.

The M1944 and M1945 replaced the musette bag near the end of the war and continued to serve up through the Korean Conflict. The picture below shows an M1945 kit along with the cargo pack that rode below the field pack.

This gear worked up until 1956, with the introduction of the M1956 Load Carrying Equipment I detailed in the LBE article. The smaller field pack migrated down to the belt line where you see the cargo back in the above photo. If needed, troops carried a larger rucksack in addition to the belt gear.

Modern Era Assault Packs

That style of carrying lived on from M1956 through the 1990s. As we hit the late 90s and early 2000s, we saw the rise of MOLLE rucks and smaller 3-day “assault” packs like the London Bridge Trading (LBT) 1476 or the USMC FILBE Assault Pack.

The thing is, though, these packs were smaller only in relation to the large sustainment packs. Think 30L versus 65L+ in capacity. This roughly reflected the relationship between the old medium-sized ALICE (34L) and large ALICE (40L). In both circumstances, you dropped the pack before a fight and retrieved it after.

US SOF Troop carrying a modernized large ALICE ruck in Afghanistan

At some point towards the later part of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, troops scaled down the pack even further, returning to the old roots of M1936 and M1944. Special Operations Forces began using small day packs attached to the back of their plate carriers. These carried essential gear without being too bulky or heavy.

Adding weight to the back also counterbalanced heavy gear chest rigs. Even though the total load might be higher, it was more comfortable on the back and core muscles.

The Light Assault Pack and Scenario X

We’re not talking about protracted ground warfare here. Like I mentioned in that first post on load carriage, us normal citizens defending our neighborhoods are a lot more like the dudes wearing pajamas running around the Hindu Kush. We live on top of our logistics train and have no need to project power over distance.

Simply put, we don’t need to carry a lot of stuff.

Sure, you might venture out a little further to gather information about what’s going on beyond your community, but you’ll have enough supplies for that in a small pack. If you’re planning something longer duration, then you can change your packing plan accordingly. But for most people on most days, keep it light and minimal.

The goal here is to stay mobile. I can already hear some people out there saying they can just put less stuff in a larger pack. Anyone who has spent time hiking or patrolling knows that it never works out that way. People tend to fill all of the available space with “nice to haves.”

Forcing yourself to stick to a smaller pack means you really have to think about what’s important.

The Ideal Assault Pack

So if the standard assault pack is too large, what should you really be looking for?

To be honest, this involves a lot of personal preferences. Guys like Max at MVT advocate for a small 15L maximum pack. Basically an oversized hydration pouch. The desire for a 15L to 20L hydration pack that can carry extras seems to be popular across military-oriented forums like Light Fighter as well.

I tend to like just a bit more volume, in the 20L to 25L range. A full 3L water bladder takes up a lot of space, and I’d like a little more room to be flexible.

I’d also like a way to control rattling with cinching straps. That way, if I pack less than capacity, I can tighten things down.

I prefer a bit of MOLLE on the outside for attaching small pouches. That makes adding a few extra magazines or a radio pouch much simpler. Additionally, I want the MOLLE to run all the way up the sides.

The pack should carry high on the shoulders, as this helps distribute the load and also enables me to rest it on the pouches of an LBE if I happen to wear one.

Some people make a big deal out of the closure style, but I don’t have a preference. Whether it’s a clamshell style like a regular backpack, top loading with a flap, or something else, each one has its benefits and risks.

My Personal Options

I flowed through a bit of an evolution here. My very first proper “Assault Pack” was one I picked up at the base exchange for relatively cheap, It’s a Sandpiper of California (SOC) Three Day Pass model. It’s modeled after the other common three0-day pack styles with multiple compartments, pockets, and sleeves.

An older photo, with the SOC pack at the top

It has the cinching straps, but not really anything else. The pack doesn’t carry the weight particularly high, nor does it have a frame sheet to distribute the load.

It’s just very “busy” and I never actually found it all that useful beyond a range bag.

The next one is my trusty 26L GoRuck GR1. I really wanted to like this as an assault pack, but I don’t think it ticks off the right boxes for me. It’s a fantastically tough pack great for travel and rucking sessions. I find the open compartment to be very useful for configuring lots of ways. I would definitely have no issue taking it to a fight, but it’s rather large and heavy.

The 26L GoRuck GR1

There are no cinching straps to collapse it down a bit, and the exterior MOLLE is only three rows tall. I would probably be tempted to overfill it.

The next pack I picked up was a 16L Hill People Gear Tarahumara. This definitely falls into the small daypack category. It’s super light and intelligently thought out, but I just really need some more capacity.

My most recent acquisition is a Savotta Jaakari-S. This is a 20L pack with flap top. The whole thing has MOLLE up the sides, front, and along the lid. That makes it very easy to attach pouches or lash things like shelter components. I inserted a frame pad within an interior sleeve that also holds a water bladder. A zippered pouch at the inside top holds small essentials.

Expect reviews of these packs in separate posts.

16L HPG Tarahumara

20L Savotta Jaakari-S

There’s a heavy bushcraft influence here that I appreciate. It’s rugged and minimal at the same time.

Other Options to Consider

For my uses, the Savotta Jaakari-S is a real winner. But they are somewhat hard to find. I actually had to order mine from Finland.

Here is a list of other options I’ve seen work well for this type of smaller assault pack:

Remember, the point of this small pack is so that you don’t get tempted to bring too much stuff. It’s for the essentials and a few “important to haves.” And trust me, a change of socks and calories are important to have.

Wrapping Up

This was a pretty broad overview. The real takeaway I want you to have is that a light assault pack is a great addition to your regular gear. The key thing is to remember that you want something on the smaller side that won’t get in the way. You want to stay nimble and be comfortable for the duration of whatever it is you’re doing.

Matt is the primary author and owner of The Everyday Marksman. He's former military officer turned professional tech sector trainer. He's a lifelong learner, passionate outdoorsman, and steadfast supporter of firearms culture.

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Commenting Rules: Be cool. This is a community about self-improvement and growth. We encourage respectful debate and criticism, but don't be mean or rude. If you're being mean or disrespectful, your comment will be deleted without warning. That said, have fun, and thanks for the conversation!

One thing I learned from running 5ks with guns is that backpacks loaded with stuff flop around a lot. How do you mitigate that? Do these packs come with a waist belt, or are they high enough that it isn’t an issue?

From my experience, it’s a mix of three things. First, having the pack actually cinched up tight against you, which goes along with the next point of having it ride high on your shoulders. The third thing is the use of cinching straps, which compress the contents of the pack and bring up against you. That stops the things on the inside from shaking around and building momentum.

On top of all that, a pack that flops around a lot is probably just too big for the purpose. A small pack worn high and tight just doesn’t have the mass and momentum to cause a problem.

Plus 1 on the Savotta Jaakari ‘S’… I ordered one (from Finland as well) after a pretty in depth search for a new assault pack and the Jaakari met all my criteria. Like you, my pack for this purpose has evolved to reaching this choice!

Hey Richard, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I definitely did not know about Arbor Arms and the Tradesman, that looks like a solidly thought-out option!

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Andrew Payne

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Matt,

You have written some truly amazing articles. I feel like your opinions and approach to everything from packs to barrel profiles matches my outlook. I relate with your point of view a lot and it’s always so well delivered. I’ll read an article, think to myself “this Idea is exactly what I’m talking about!” And not know who wrote it until the bottom of the page and then I see it’s yours! Keep up the good work, you’re a great writer!

Matt

Matt is the primary author and owner of The Everyday Marksman. He's former military officer turned professional tech sector trainer. He's a lifelong learner, passionate outdoorsman, and steadfast supporter of firearms culture.